Category Archives: Books

So it is the time of the year again where everyone recaps 2013 and makes new years resolutions (or not) and as I am pro-resolutions even tho I am anti-sticking-to-them I want to do that too.

One thing I realised in 2013 was, that I didn’t like it too much how I restricted myself with this blog to stay within one topic. “Everyone” (as in “I read a lot about it”) is telling me, that you are supposed to stick to a topic or theme when you write a blog. I understand why, but I figured that this is not for me.

I often wanted to write about a lot of things but couldn’t because they were not book related. So, as this blog started as a new years resolution and had not a real theme at first I will go back to the roots so to speak.

So be prepared to read here about other things that happen in my life in the future.

Now that I’ve warned you, I can go ahead and start with “these other things” which will be my new years resolutions today. They are far from well thought about but I hope, that they will get better as I go. I started thinking about them about 2 days ago, that might be a reason. What I have are a few general topics under which I want to try to get stuff done..or right. And as I am one of these people who need to tell it other people to stick (a little bit better) to them, I will do so. Man, I just realise how rusty I am in blogging already, need to practice more often again. Without further ado, here are the main topics:

FOOD

FITNESS

DIY

EDUCATION

SPACE

FUN

These are not sorted by priority just by the order they came to my mind. So what do I mean with these things. Let’s take a closer look.

1. FOOD: I want to eat healthier this year. Not totally strict as I wouldn’t be able to stick to it forever anyway but I want to start building habits. “Totally strict” would also interfere with 6. General things might be: eat vegan more often, fish less (I am pescetarian). Less sweets (I want to stay sane so I will still eat a little bit of sweets!), less fatty things and more veggies and things that are good for me. I also want to cook more often as I haven’t really done that in the last year which I am missing. Oh, I almost forgot: drink at least 2 litres of water a day (got a handy dandy app on my phone for that and it did work out quite well in december already).

2. FITNESS: I have done close to no activity in 2013 and that’s not good at all. Also I am working full time again for a year now and I am sitting in front of a computer more than ever (even tho I was an expert in that before that already). Having probleps with my sciatic nerve in the second half of 2013 made me also realise that I am not getting younger. So I will try do more exercise this year. Even if it is only for 5 or 10 minutes. I am thinking about trying the Blogilates Workout Calendar and maybe getting a FitBit-thing.

3. DIY: I had so many Ideas, bought so many magazines and watched so many DIY videos on youtube last year but did hardly anything myself which made me mad about myself. So I want to make something as often as possible this year. And not only make, but finish! Also I really want to start an Etsy shop this year (as I am talking about that for ages already – and annoying all of my friends with it).

4. EDUCATION: This is rather simple to explain. I have to be done with my study by April 2015 and I still need a hand full of classes and all of my final paper. I want to be done with all that by the end of the year.

5. SPACE: No I don’t want to travel to the moon. With SPACE I mean the space around me. The apartment I live in (which is mostly my bf’s at the moment even tho I still have my own) and the stuff I surround myself with. I would like to move to a bigger place with my bf this year and also want to get rid of stuff (best case would be BEFORE moving) and organise the stuff I have better. Also, as I was reminded of the film Plastic Planet a while ago I also want to try to get rid of at least some of the plastic in my surrounding.

6. FUN: Doing all that I still want to have fun. It is of no use if I am miserable all the time. I want to make my life better and not worse! So I won’t punish myself if I don’t act according to the points above (this will be a hard challenge) and not give up immediately when that happens (“Now that I didn’t do any exercises for the last two days there is no need of continuing anymore”). Another thing I want to do this year is to watch all Episodes of Classic Doctor Who (I am in the middle of season 2 right now). And last but not least I don’t want to neglect this blog any longer even tho I have a lot on my plate and I won’t be able to promise anything.

Ok, I think the wall of text is long enough now. Respekt to everyone who read until here!

Do you do new years resolutions? If yes, which are yours for 2014? Do you stick to them normally?

WELCOME TO THE MAKER MOVEMENT. A revolution is under way. But it’s not about tearing down the old guard. It’s about building, it’s about creating, it’s about breathing life into groundbreaking new ideas. It’s called the Maker Movement, and it’s changing the world.

Mark Hatch has been at the forefront of the Maker Movement since it began. A cofounder of TechShop–the first, largest, and most popular makerspace–Hatch has seen it all. Average people pay a small fee for access to advanced tools–everything from laser cutters and milling machines to 3D printers and AutoCAD software. All they have to bring is their creativity and some positive energy. Prototypes of new products that would have cost $100,000 in the past have been made in his shop for $1,000.

The Maker Movement is where all the next great inventions and innovations are happening– and you can play a part in it.

“The Maker Movement Manifesto” takes you deep into the movement. Hatch describes the remarkable technologies and tools now accessible to you and shares stories of how ordinary people have devised extraordinary products, giving rise to successful new business ventures. He explains how economic upheavals are paving the way for individuals to create, innovate, make a fortune–and even drive positive societal change–with nothing more than their own creativity and some hard work.

It’s all occurring right now, all around the world–and possibly in your own neighborhood.

The creative spirit lives inside every human being. We are all makers. Whether you’re a banker, lawyer, teacher, tradesman, or politician, you can play an important role in the Maker society.

I just finished the book a few hours ago and I had to write this review instantly even tho it still takes more than a month until it comes out. One reason for this was because I got so excited reading the book and I still am and I had to transfer this into the review before it wears off.

When I download books off of Netgalley I often flip through the first few pages when I get them to see what it is about and if it looks interesting. I also did that with the Makers Movement Manifesto and two things happened. First, I stumbled upon some real life stories about people at the place who Mark Hatch Co-founded and I am a sucker for these kind of stories. Second, I read the name of the place he founded and instantly went on google to look it up. There I found videos about it which I watched. Even one hour long ones. I watched all of them and I thought: “OMG I want to be there, I want to try that, where is the nearest TechShop”. This thought kept coming back while reading the book about every 2 pages at least.

I finished the book in two days which is quick for me (it also was a fairly short book tho) and read it whenever I could. I even thought of writing an email to TechShop begging them to open a shop in my city when I did some more research on google and found out that there is a hackerspace called HappyLab (I love that name btw) in my town which isn’t a TechShop but the closest I can get and I am SO EXCITED. I will definitely check it out as soon as I can.

This book came around just at the right moment because I was thinking about doing something creative for months now. I was even trying some stuff but hit limitations in term of space, material or tools a lot. Also I want to try something new, especially the “gateway drug” as – I believe – Hatch called the laser cutter. This really sounds like a drug to me and one of the few I really want to try (one of my other drugs is chocolate).

To sum this bowl of excitement up, I want to add that this is may be not everyone’s cup of tea but I think a lot of people do want to “make” something with their own hands… may it be “only” by pressing the start button an a laser cutter…

Cover: I like the cover. It is simple but dragged my attention when I browsed through NetGalley.

So this is a REALLY quick read. It’s only 67 pages which made me finish it in about an hour, maybe less. It felt like less. The Story was predictable but still well told.

I just would have loved to get to know the characters better and everything. It was a little too short for my taste. But I totally understand that I am not really the target audience so if I was an early reader this would be a nice start. It probably would make me want to read more in dept books like this.

Another thing I figured was, that this book can be considered Dystopian but it still has a lot of truth to the world as it is now. You would just have to switch “Pale” with “(Illegal) Immigrant” or “Ex-Prisoner” and it would still make as much sense as it does now. Made me think about the topic, especially as bullying at school is also a trending thing right now. Sadly.

So if you have an hour to kill you can check out this Novella or one of the other 16 or so books Chris Wooding wrote so far. That’s a lot isn’t it? Given that he is only 32…that’s only 2 years older than me. Gosh! I need to start do important things in my life!

Cover: This Cover reminded me SO MUCH of Starters by Lissa Price and as I loved her book I was probably not very objective about this one at first. Maybe this was also the reason why I was a little bit disappointed with this book which isn’t really fair. You shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover – and especially not by some other books cover!

So the past couple of weeks I was first sick (stupid summer flu) and then really busy so I didn’t do any IMM Posts for a few weeks. But don’t worry, you won’t miss anything, because I will tell you what I got the past 3 weeks. As I haven’t been to the Library (even tho I REALLY need to go by now – books overdue) I only have NetGalley Books except one Book I got offered by the Author on Goodreads which I just downloaded a few minutes ago. I will split the Post by weeks.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley (April 2, 2013)Etiquette for the End of the World by Jeanne Martinet (August 1, 2012)Right where I belong by Krista McGee (December 11, 2012)

Books I got at NetGalley (Week 3: August 13th – August 19th):

The Archived (Sneak Peek) by Victoria Schwab (January 22, 2013)The Paradise Diaries #1: Dante’s Girlby Courtney Cole (July 1, 2012)Point 4 #2: The Future we left behind by Mike A. Lancaster (November 13, 2012) (D’oh! Didn’t realise that this is a second book in a series until now)

Atticus Claw Breaks the Law by Jennifer Gray (September 6, 2012)Katya’s World by Johnathan L. Howard (November 6, 2012)Miriam Black #2: Mockingbird by Chuck Wendig (August 28, 2012) (Noo! Another one I didn’t realise it was 2nd in a Series!)

Ok, now you are up to date again with the books that I got. I’m a little angry about myself that I didn’t see that two of the books where 2nds in Series especially as they look really nice but I don’t want to read books of Series out of order. Seems like I will have to find the first ones first and read. Also I wanted to mention that I love most of the covers of the books that I got the past three weeks. Nearly all of them look really intriguing and awesome and/or cute.

What did you get this week? Hope you had a great week too and Happy Reading!

So this was a pretty good month for me even tho some of the books were pretty or very short but I am still proud of myself. I nearly reached last years total amount of books read and it’s only July! Woho! Also I finally managed to read a few Netgalley Books.

So what did you read that month? Have you had a good or a bad month in Reading?

This week was a rather quiet week in regards of books. I didn’t have to go to the Library (even tho I was for about ten minutes or so to show a friend around) so I didn’t get any books from there. Also on netGalley there wasn’t a lot of excitement or at least I wasn’t aproved for a lot of books. Only for two to be precise. But it could have been a lot more because I realised that we have a Shakespeare & Company in town and went there with friends on Friday but stayed strong and didn’t buy any books. I am really proud of myself.

Again a long time has passed since I did my last IMM Post. One part of it being me MIA and one part trying to not get too many books at the library as I have way to many NetGalley books left to read (And they are constantly coming in too). Still I was a bad girl this week. It started off pretty innocent as I “just” wanted to return some books that were due… and ended up getting 6 new books *sigh*. Yeah, whatever. So here they are. (All of them exciting enough to not being able to leave them at the Library)